Title: Masks
Fandom: Wizards of Waverly Place
Word Count: 4,303
Rating/Content: Jalex, duh. I'm going to say this is PG-13... but more for insinuation than anything else.
Spoilers/episodes: Finale episode, "Who Will be the Family Wizard."
A/N: We're getting so close now, you guys...
"For the love of Peace and Justice, hold STILL!"
Standing in the enchanted dressing room, Alex corrals a squirming woodcutter for the millionth time. She's in the process of getting the kids ready to perform - everyone has to look perfect. Crouching to make a few last minute adjustments, she growls through a mouthful of pins "I swear to god kid, if you make me prick myself one more time, I'll-"
"Alex! Language! " This, from the elf standing to her right. Alex scowls. Millie, another volunteer from HH, is keeping pretty busy entertaining the rest of the pint-sized cast while they wait... but apparently not so busy that she doesn't have time to keep an eye on Alex as well. Which is, you know, ridiculous...it's like Alex really needs a babysitter, or anything. She wasn't going to say anything THAT bad... and besides, she's already stabbed herself three times in a row trying to fix the hem on the woodcutter's trousers, so excuse her if she's all out of sugar and spice. Alex smirks to herself; when it comes to the kid is almost as bad as J-
Alex frowns. There's no way she's thinking about Justin right now. She's not, okay?
She releases the woodcutter, who flees to the general and growing pandemonium on the far end of the dressing room, and beckons to the woodcutter's wife, whose makeup is in a state of disrepair. From the corner of her eye, she notices that the twins have separated themselves from the general melee, and by the sounds of it, the little boy who looks like Justin is getting all know-it-all on his twin sister. Since her last visit, Alex had embellished the decor by adding a number of fanciful drawings to the walls, and he's pointing to one now, insisting "No, it's not a PEAcock, it's a PHOENIX, they're on fire all the time and they can't die!"
It's a picture of a fierce-looking bird with plumage the color of fire. Its wings are spread for flight, and its eyes are the color of sapphires. It's an image of which Alex is particularly proud - getting the detail right on the wings took forever. The time she spent on it was totally worth it, if she does say so herself.
The little girl sighs heavily, rolling her eyes heavenward (well, ceiling-ward), and Alex has to suppress a smile. Sorry kid, she thinks, but he's only gonna get worse.
Then she's thinking of Justin again, which takes the smile right off her face. She turns her attention back to the woodcutter's wife, re-applying her rosy red cheeks and squinting at the effect. Next time she makes a magical dressing room, there will be better lights. At the other end of the room, Millie claps her hands for attention. "Alex, kids! Everybody ready?" She lifts her wand in her right hand as if she's going to conduct an orchestra with it.
Alex protests, "Wait, I'm almost-"
There's a flash of light, and the dressing room is empty.
Sweating beneath her candy-colored getup, Harper bustles from one place to another in the commons room, looking for her friend. Honestly, it's amazing she can hide at all. The room isn't that big.
When she finds her, Alex will probably be mad. After all, Harper is supposed to be keeping an eye on Justin - but, as Alex's best (and, periodically, only) friend, she knows from experience that it is a really good idea to keep an eye on Alex as well. Particularly during otherworldly adventures during which she's running around getting up to god knows what. Besides, she needs to let her know that Crumbs recognized her, and... well, Harper's not really going to Wizard jail... is she?
Probably, the authorities... if she even has to talk to them... will realize that this is all a big, big misunderstanding. They'll give her a fine or something. Community service. Mandatory counseling.
Oh god, what this is for real? Harper isn't made for hard time...! There's no way she'll be able to get the supplies she needs for designing original edible clothing and unique jewelry in jail... she'll never survive in the clink, never!
Where is Alex?
Harper is pretty sure of where she's not - Alex is not milling around in the commons area, and she's not at the minibar. She's not on the dance floor. She's not even in the bathrooms (Harper checked) or the hallway outside. As a last resort, Harper approaches the (cardboard) witches' cage that doubles as a dressing room... where she first entered the party (albeit against her will). She's been avoiding it because hates messing in with magical things, but desperate times call for desperate measures. With finger that are shaking only slightly, she slips the training wand from her apron pocket. "Open... door!" she half-whispers, pointing it. She sounds less like she's commanding the magic in the training wand, more like she's begging it.
The door swings open.
She steps inside cautiously, as if she expects to be attacked by something from within (it wouldn't be the first time). "...Alex?"
No answer. The room is empty. Sadly she walks away, not even bothering to close the door.
Feeling dejected and more than a little out of place, Harper circles back to the minibar to regroup, where she stares sadly into a cup of punch. The fruity refreshment offers no answers. She knows she should be looking for Justin, and she will... in a minute. Is it possible, she wonders, for Alex simply to have left? She wouldn't do that to Harper, she'd never do that... Harper lets her head fall onto the bar with a bang. She totally would. She she should just find Justin and-
"Hey, there! Looks like you're having a rough night! Cheer up, it can't be that bad!"
Slowly, disbelieving, Harper lifts her head. Her cornsilk-green hair sticks to her face. Her eyes are exactly the color that eyes get when they're just-about-to-cry. She peels an errant green strand from her mouth and asks, "Do I... know you?"
The newcomer, a tall pudgy guy in a leather vest and wearing a spiked collar around his thick neck, sticks out a hand. "Felix, nice to meet y- hey! Hey, I know you!"
He sounds almost unreasonably proud of himself, and Harper offers a wary smile. "I don't think so. I don't mean to be rude, but I've got to be-"
"Yeah... yeah!" Felix enthuses. You were staying with what's-her-name... Justin's sister! Alex! Yeah, and you're Harper! You're Alex's Wizard roomate! Aw, I knew I recognized you!"
Harper wonders if he always takes in exclamation marks. But it's hard not to return his smile. "Yeah, I'm her Wizard friend...Harper. That's me. You know Alex?"
Felix blushes, and Harper realizes her probably knows her a little too well. "Yeah, um... well anyway," he mutters, eloquently.
Feeling guilty for embarrassing him, Harper offers her own hand. "Nice to meet you again, Felix. You haven't, um, seen Alex anywhere, have you? Like in the last thirty minutes? I'm sort of looking for her?" It comes out like a question.
Felix shakes his head. "No, but... gosh, I guess a lot of people are losing things tonight. You haven't seen, um... you haven't seen my..." his hand goes to the back of his neck, nervously, and Harper notices for the first time that he's wearing a bow tie, which seems at odds with the sleeveless leather vest and the faded Tears of Blood Tshirt. She assumes it's meant to be a costume. "You haven't seen a, um, my wand anywhere, have you?"
Harper frowns. She's not exactly an expert on Wizard culture, but she's pretty sure that losing track of your wand is a big no-no. All of the Wizard she's ever known (and yes, it's kind of messed up that she even has a use for that sentence) have treated their wands like a kind of magical appendage, inseparable from them at all times. Well, with the exception of Max, but Max is special.
"Sorry. Um, maybe I can keep an eye out for it. What does it look like?"
He brightens. "Well, it's wood, charmed of course, about so long, " he holds his hands apart, " ...with seven rings of precious stones, and the bulb is clear except when I'm using it... then it's usually purple." He puffs up a little bit, adding, "It's the most powerful wand in the Wizard world."
"But... you lost it."
He deflates. "Yeah. But I'm sure it's gotta be here somewhere right? ...I've really gotta find it before the party's over!"
Harper shakes her head. That is so much worse than losing Alex... wait, Alex! She stands quickly. "I've need to go. But good luck with your finding wand and all... I'll let you know if I see it... I'm sure it'll turn up."
Felix smiles. "Good luck finding Alex."
"Thanks!"
What a nice guy, Harper thinks. Well, for a Wizard.
"So what do you know about this charity deal, what's it called, Holding Hands?"
"Helping," Justin corrects absently, "Helping Hands." He's been cornered by the too-friendly Helen, a chirpy blonde who is also the head of the Wizard Competition Commissioner's Office. Her voice, high pitched and nasal, makes his ears hurt. She's wearing a skintight velvet jumpsuit accented with a collar and cuffs of calico material. On her head she wears a pair of cat's ears on a headband.
They're part of a small crowd that's formed in front of the gingerbread bounce-house. A few rows of chairs have been set up, and a modest backdrop of painted huts and painted trees stand to either side: it's almost time for the play. Justin is gamely trying to make small talk. He's the host of the event after all - which reminds him that he's going to kill Alex when he gets the chance. Only... he's not going to get the chance, because, he remembers, he's never going to speak to her again. He ignores the feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Juliet still hasn't made an appearance, either, and Justin's head aches. He's sure it's just fallout from the tiny little panic attack he had earlier, after Crumbs suggested that he might be connected to Alex in some horrible, powerful way, that his magic might have something to do with her from now on because of the bizarre spell they'd awakened. I'm sure that didn't happen, Justin tells himself silently. It didn't happen. I'm sure that didn't happen.
In his ear, the woman from the Commissioner's Office drones on and on about the importance of the Wizard Competition - it's nothing he hasn't heard before. When there's a long break in the onslaught of conversation, he becomes aware that she's asked a question. He tears his eyes reluctantly from the door, and forces a smile. "I'm sorry... can you say that again?"
"I said, what do you know about this whole Helping Hands deal... you know, the thing we're all here supporting? Geez, kiddo, clean the water out of your ears. You're just as distractible as you were when you were the first time I met you, yanno?"
Justin struggles to pay attention through the haze of his throbbing head. "About... Helping Hands. Sure. Well. It's a, uh, charity. Right, a charity, and it helps... uh... homeless... Wizard... youth?"
"Uh-huh?" she's looking at him like she expects more.
"Well, and it uh. There's a really big need for... " he flails. What does he really know about this thing, after all? Only what Alex has told him, and she isn't exactly forthcoming. "Helen," he says brightly, touching her arm, "your Calico Woman costume is amazing. Tell me, did you make it yourself?"
"Justin, I've been looking everywhere for you! I couldn't find Alex but I ran into Felix and he lost his wand and I looked everywhere, I even used the training- " Harper's talking at a breakneck pace, clutching his arm like he's a life preserver.
Justin looks at her with alarm, interrupting, "The training... I gave you... in magic?" For the first time, Harper seems to take in Helen's presence, her curious gaze. Gracefully, as gracefully as a person can when they're going full-tilt toward the edge of a cliff, she steers around the subject of the training wand she's not supposed to have: "The training you gave me, yeah...to... to do magic, just like I always do. You know me, just can't get enough of doing magic!" She smiles wide and creepy, obviously under the (very mistaken) impression that this will make her seem more sincere. The blonde smiles back... nervously.
She extends her hand, politely. "Hi, I'm..."
"Very busy," Justin cuts her off, taking her by the upper arm, "and I need to talk to you about that... thing... you're busy with. Let's go talk about it." Over his shoulder, her calls, "Lovely chatting with you...! " already moving away, Harper in tow.
When they've put a few rows of folding chairs between themselves and the woman from the Commissioner's office, Harper pulls her arm from his grasp. "Justin, that was rude!"
His mouth thins into an impatient line. "It would have been a lot worse than that if you'd told her you'd have Alex's training wand! Harper, where have you been?"
"Looking for Alex! I can't find her anywhere!"
At that moment, there's squeal of feedback from the direction of the podium; they cover their ears. This is followed by a tentative announcement: "Excuse me... may I have your attention?" Wincing, Justin rests a hand on Harper's shoulder, pointing with his other hand in the direction of the speaker, the apparent MC in her extremely red dress. "I think we just found her."
Standing onstage, Alex swallows the knot of nervousness in her throat; it falls into her stomach and flutters there, spreading wings.
"Thank you..." she winces at the intense volume, then fiddles with the microphone. "Sorry about that. Everyone, thank you so much for coming. Welcome to the... " she hesitates, smiling just enough to let the audience know they're in on the joke, "...the debut performance of the Helping Hands players, performing an adaptation of Hansel and Gretel." She pauses for a small smattering of applause. She can see Harper in the crowd...thankfully she's with Justin, right where she's supposed to be. Purposefully, she avoids looking at her brother, doing what she can to pretend he isn't there. "I want to thank everyone for coming out tonight to support our kids. As you know, homelessness in the Wizard World is a growing problem, and Helping Hands wants to do everything it can to care for the most vulnerable members of our society." The applause are a little more enthusiastic this time. Quickly, she appends, "Please pick up a pamphlet after the show with information on how to donate and volunteer. Again, thank you for coming. Please enjoy the show."
She tucks the microphone back into its stand, turning away from the audience and the applause with a broad smile she doesn't feel. The bounce house begins to jostle gently, as those at the edges of the "stage" wait impatiently, and she picks up her pace.
From the audience, Justin and Harper watch.
After some muffled voices from the other side of the "stage", Alex comes back, leading a small boy of about seven or eight, dressed in the same ragtag peasant gear that the rest of the cast wears, minus axe or broom. Crouching slightly, all her attention on the child, Alex holds the microphone for him to speak into. He stares at her, struck dumb by all the people watching, but Alex nod encouragingly. Justin read the words she mouths to the boy: You start with Once Upon a Time.
The audience shifts slightly in their chairs, waiting.
She pushes the microphone towards him, raising her eyebrows in silent encouragement, a faint smile on her lips. Go ahead.
"Once upon a time..." the diminutive narrator breathes. The crowd of watchers quiets to murmurs and the occasional rustling of costumes.
"There lived a poor woodcutter and his wife!" the storyteller crows, seeing that he has the room. His enthusiasm making the sound system squeal with feedback again, as the guests lift their gloved, clawed, or manicured hands to their ears. Most, however, are smiling.
Alex might be smiling most of all. She peers around the corner, waiting.
The ostentatiously tattered woodcutter and his equally ragged wife drift onstage, as this was apparently their cue, wide-eyed with nervousness. Justin wonders how many rehearsals they've really had, and whether Alex is responsible for any of this. He reminds himself not to think about Alex.
Onstage, the woodcutter hefts his axe with a grunt of effort. Justin, who knows for a fact that it weighs as much as your average caramel apple, suppresses a grin. It isn't acting... but it isn't bad.
"AND THEIR TWO CHILDREN!" the small storyteller half-shouts suddenly, really getting into the swing of things now. The speaker squawks again, and the audience giggles. Alex, who seems to be acting as the storyteller's handler, grimaces. She pushes the microphone a few inches away from his mouth, and whispers furiously into his ear.
"But you said project my voice," the kid whines into it, turning the stage-whisper into a full-fledged announcement, and Alex covers her eyes with one perfectly manicured hand. He doesn't have to hear her groan of exasperation to know that she's frustrated.
"And their two CHILDREN!" the kids hollers again, and a few people in the audience titter. Alex looks as though she'd like to sink into the floor, but grimly holds onto her smile. Both of them look toward the "hut" side of the stage, where evidently something is supposed to happen.
Another of Alex's associates appears from behind the scenery, a female Ogre with a take-charge sort of look about her... but before she can take charge of much of anything, a third voice from the opposing edge of the stage hisses, "Say Hansel and Gretel!"
Alex drops her head into both hands, clearly wishing she could disappear.
The voice is young and female, and more than a little bossy, if Justin knows bossy when he hears it (he does). "Shut up!" hisses a second, more boyish voice, joining the first. "The people... can hear you!"
Alex covers her face with both hands.
"Stop bossing me!" the girl-voice tosses back.
"Stop acting so dumb n' I won't have to!" her companion retorts.
From backstage come the unmistakeable sounds of a tussle, and the bounce-house wobbles slightly. Alex rushes backstage with a look of alarm, and the narrator escapes to the opposite side of the set, vanishing behind the trees. The audience giggles; Justin wonders privately how long the kids have left to live.
"Poor Alex," Harper murmurs at his side. He'd forgotten she was there. "What a disaster."
Justin shrugs, eyeing the pandemonium that is evidently increasing as the house jiggles merrily back and forth. "I'd say it was pretty typical, actually."
"Oh Justin, don't say that!" Her painted face is screwed up into a Harper Finkle Very Serious Expression(tm). "You don't know how hard she's worked on this! She really wanted to make a good impression, make people more sympathetic, make them see that these are just kids..."
"They didn't know they were kids?"
"No, well yes, but I mean... make them more sympathetic to their plight, you know?"
Justin sighs as a backdrop trembles, threatens to fall, and doesn't. "I agree, it's really sad. But no Wizard family is going to adopt kids that aren't their own... it plays hell with bloodlines, Wizard Competitions, Lair licensing... it's just not done."
"Oh-yeah," Harper says, as if she's heard it all before, "I mean, Wizard World families might not, but you wouldn't believe how many regular human families are willing to..."
Justin pales, and he sees the reflection of his own horror in Harper's face. She stops talking."
"Harper, what did you just say?"
Harper tries to smile, but she's not very good at it. "Uh.. what? I didn't... I was just..."
"Harper..."
She gives him a deer-in-the-headlights look. "Marshmallow."
"What?"
"Candy corn."
"Harper, this is no time to..."
"Pineapple?"
"Harper!" Justin snaps, and she looks flinches. He softens his voice. "I lived with Max for a long time; his tricks don't work on me."
She nods, looking disappointed. "I didn't mean anything by it, Justin, please don't tell Alex or she'll..."
"Harper this is serious. I want you to answer me very carefully." He pulls her out of the crowd and off to one side, holding her by both shoulders, looking into her face. Harper swallows. "Are you telling me... is Alex trying to get Wizard kids adopted into mortal families...?"
There's a long, tense space in which Justin swears he can actively see Harper wishing she were a better liar, wishing that he weren't himself, wishing she was at home in her wooden shoes. In an almost-whispers, she tells him, "They're the only ones who'll do it."
Justin puts a hand on his head, looking a lot like Alex did when the play began to go sideways. "How many people know about this? Do you understand how serious this is?"
"Justin, Alex says it's the only way these kids will ever get into homes. She says..."
"What exactly does she plan to do when their powers show up, huh? Tell me that!"
"...she says there's a technique for the suppression of magic, and that..."
"Those spells haven't been released for general use!"
"...and that they can be told at a certain age..."
Justin blanches. "This isn't Harry Potter! She'll go to prison, Harper."
Harper finally stops talking. "She'll... she'll what?"
"This isn't a misdemeanor, Harper. Placing a bunch of Wizard kids in Mortal families violates one of the most sacred laws of the Wizard World... and it puts the entire Wizard World at risk. She'll go to prison for sure, if anyone finds out. The government here isn't joking around."
It's Harper's turn to look pale. "She said it was against the rules. But... almost everything Alex does is against some rule, so I didn't really think..."
"I can't believe this. I can't believe this." Justin is pace, running his hands through his hair, making a mess of it. "Is she crazy?" He's afraid he already knows the answer to that question.
Harper touches his sleeve. "I think she just... wants to do something that matters, you know? She hasn't been the same since... you know."
Justin knows. Since Mason.
"Justin... they're starting again."
He looks toward the stage; luckily, Alex is nowhere in sight. He isn't sure why, but he doesn't want her to suspect that he knows what she's up to. He hates how she doesn't think things through; this is no joke.
Back on stage, the woodcutter and his wife get down to the serious business of acting out out the well-worn story, Hansel and Gretel are left in the woods, and the woodcutter's wife makes her reappearance as the witch. Alex smiles at the audience and the actors (while keeping one hand clamped, vicelike, on her charge), and the small storyteller scowls.
Later, Justin stands alone at the edge of the crowd, rubbing his still-aching head. He wonders, maybe, if he's getting sick. His thoughts swarm. The words Alex and prison and remarkably bad idea drift in his throbbing brain. He thinks about the warning in Crumb's words, and about alchemy and magic. He thinks, she could lose everything.
He can see Harper from where he's standing... he left her with strict instructions to stay in sight, to act normal (or what passes for normal, when you're Harper Finkle), and for gods' sake, don't talk to anybody else about what she's told Justin. He can only hope that this is just one of her ridiculous plans, not something she's acted on. Harper seemed sufficiently scared into silence, and now she's dancing with one of Justin's old Students... nice guy, but maybe not the brightest tool in the shed. He tries not to notice Alex, but it's hard. Circulating among the guests, glad-handing, she stands out like a flame in that ostentatious outfit of hers. That's the reason, he tells himself, the only reason, for the way she pulls at his attention, as if he can feel her presence in the room even when he's not looking. When she meanders over to where Alex and Felix sway to the music, Justin looks away.
In all the excitement of the evening, he's almost (not quite) managed to forget about the conspicuous absence of a certain vampire. Maybe it's better that she's not here, really. He resigns himself to not seeing her tonight (he doesn't think maybe not ever - some thoughts are better left alone), and tries to figure out what, exactly, he's going to do about Alex. Obviously, he's going to murder her. And then he's going to... to... fix this, somehow. Make sure that Alex doesn't end up in jail or worse, that he doesn't lose his job for knowing about her nefarious activities. And then... then he'll go back to never speaking to her again. He means it this time. Really.
His eyes stray toward the last place he saw his sister and her friend. They're not there, which doesn't alarm him now... maybe, hope against hope, Alex and Harper have actually left the party. Somehow, though, Justin doubts he'll get off that easily.
His eyes move through the room the crowd lightly, wondering how long it will be before someone sees him and engages him in mindless conversation. Justin doesn't like the role of 'host' at these things... he adds that to the list of things to tell Alex right before he murders her.
As his gaze passes the entrance to the commons, it stops, his heart giving a painful lurch before his brain understands what his attention has snagged on... then he sees her, in all her resplendent dark glory: The short, shimmering dress that stops at her perfect thighs, the bright eyes and subtle smile.
Juliet.